Computer-friendly

Our community is made up of people, by and large, who are very tech savvy. The longer people have been involved in the Fedora community, typically the more expertise they accrue on Linux and specifically Fedora. However, our user base does not necessarily share this level of expertise. We do not assume Fedora users are skilled developers or hackers, although certainly some are.

Users can be expected to be comfortable with installing an operating system, which means they have skills and knowledge that allows them to perform simple tasks. We assume a user can:

Locate and identify system components

Download and save files

Locate existing software to write optical or USB media

Boot their system to alternative optical or USB media

Follow instructions and prompts

Launch and use a web browser to read information

Users aren't expected to automatically have the skills and knowledge that some Fedora contributors have. We don't assume a user:

Knows the technical dictionary or jargon used by Fedora contributors

Understands operating system internals

Knows how programs and libraries are related or interact

Evaluates new releases of existing software without context

Mitigates unexpected changes in existing software

Debugs software crashes

Diagnoses system hardware problems

Understands command-line interaction with the system

Knows file-level system configuration practices

This doesn't mean users are incapable of learning these skills. Part of the process of becoming a collaborator and contributor is acquiring those skills. However, we can't assume a user already possesses these skills. We assume the software we send to users has no context to them other than they may use it.